


Where The Streets Have No Name

by bbluejoseph



Series: The Joshua Tree [4]
Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: DEMA (Twenty One Pilots), Dissociation, Established Relationship, M/M, Past Torture, Past Violence, Rescue Mission, josh dissociates but its not very detailed, some elements of peril, trench
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2021-01-29 16:08:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21412933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bbluejoseph/pseuds/bbluejoseph
Summary: Neither of them had mentioned the possibility of getting stolen away by the bishops, but they both felt it.
Relationships: Josh Dun/Tyler Joseph
Series: The Joshua Tree [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1487714
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	1. Burning

**Author's Note:**

> I did an ask game on my Tumblr for this series, and anon requested fluff and emotional hurt/comfort, with the "can I put my head in your lap?" prompt. thank you for asking anon!!
> 
> this was a lot longer than I intended it to be so I'm splitting it into three different parts. this takes place a month after the events of bleed into one. enjoy!

“I understand if you’re not ready.”

Tyler finally looked up from his dust-coated boots. Commotion surrounded him as he sat in the tent, as other banditos gathered their supplies. They stuck extra tape to their clothes, tied on bandanas, pulled up hoods, and laced their boots; outside, Jenna was lighting the torches that would lead their way through the dark.

Josh, however, was the only one taking up Tyler’s attention. He stood in front of him, bandana pulled up, sweatshirt on, a sunflower sticking out of his pocket.

He looked so much like he did when they first met that it made Tyler feel something. He wasn’t sure if it was good or bad.

“I’m ready,” he said, and he meant it. He shook his head, then went back to tying his boots. He’d chosen to wear a camouflage hoodie for his first trip back into the city; well, his first since his final escape.

Nobody in Nico’s district seemed to know the bishop was dead, at first. One day passed, then two, before the citizens realized their leader wasn’t coming back.

The riots started pretty quickly after that. People were roaming the streets in the daytime, breaking shop windows and looting them for their supplies. It took the remaining bishops two days to reign them in.

All work in the greenhouses was stopped indefinitely, because someone burnt them to the ground.

With Nico’s district being the primary food supplier for the city, everyone in Dema was feeling the effects. The citizens were starving, and everyone was ordered to stay in their rooms, only allowed to leave during worship and for meals. People were whispering about the banditos, about a way to get out of the city. Until a replacement for Nico could be found, the other bishops rotated turns mandating the district. The banditos, meanwhile, were going in and out of the city on an almost nightly basis, bringing food in and getting people out.

Tyler had been helping around the camp, mostly. He gathered firewood, harvested edible plants, repaired torn clothing and tents. Nobody pressured him to go back to the city, and he was thankful for that.

But things were changing.

Josh stumbled into their tent every night, exhausted from trips to the city. While Tyler helped him unbutton his dusty jacket, unlace his boots, Josh spoke in a quiet voice about the conditions in Dema. Each story sent a pang through Tyler’s heart.

With so many fresh refugees in Trench, experienced banditos were working themselves to the bone. They needed people who knew how to get in and out of the city. And so tonight, when Josh began forming a group to go into Nico’s district, Tyler volunteered.

This was his first rescue mission that isn’t his own.

“You want me to get you some tape?”

Tyler nodded, and Josh pulled a roll out of his pocket, tearing off a piece with his perfect teeth and pressing it on his shoulder before tearing another. 

He sat still, watching as Josh put the tape back into his pocket. “Is everyone ready?” 

“Almost.” Josh tilted his head slightly. “Do you want to carry a torch?”

“I’d probably set something on fire,” Tyler admitted, and Josh laughed. 

“Can you carry supplies?” He suggested, and Tyler nodded. Josh disappeared from the tent for a moment. 

The banditos, unlike the city, spread their skills. Each district in the city produced something different, which kept things efficient, but without even one district, Dema was weak. The banditos taught everyone a wide range of skills. Tyler, in his time here, had learned a bit about cooking, sewing, gathering, and healing. If the banditos were to lose a group of people, they could still recover.

Tyler stood as Josh re-entered the tent, holding out a backpack. Tyler slipped his arms into the straps, noting the weight of the supplies within. Josh added something to the pack, talking quietly as he did so.

“It’s a quick mission. We’re meeting our contact and a few citizens on the edge of the city, handing out supplies. There’s a family, too.” Josh paused, then zipped up the backpack again. “Two parents and two kids. We’ve arranged for them to come with us.”

There weren’t many children in Trench; Tyler had seen only a few in his time there. It wasn’t that they couldn’t survive outside the city, so much as their parents thought the risk of escape was too dangerous for them. But with the lack of food and the strict curfew, they were probably desperate.

Josh took a step towards the flap of the tent. “We should get going. The others are waiting.”

“Wait.” Tyler stepped close to him, hesitating for a moment. “Can I kiss you? For good luck?”

Josh’s eyes crinkled, and he pulled his bandana down to his chin. The two shared a kiss, short but kind and gentle despite the threat they would soon be facing. Tyler wanted it to be longer, for them to have enough time so that he could tell Josh how much he meant to him. 

Neither of them had mentioned the possibility of getting stolen away by the bishops, but they both felt it.

The kiss ended, and Josh pulled his bandana back up to the bridge of his nose. Tyler held onto the straps of his backpack, and nodded. 

Together, they stepped out into the fading light.


	2. Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank u to marsakat for promoting my fic on tumblr and just reading my fics in general

Tyler felt safer in Trench now than he once did. The cliffs were not looming, but protecting, and the breeze did not chill his bones. 

Josh walked towards the front of the party, carrying a torch, and Tyler walked beside him. He looked so serious now, so different from the kind and gentle Josh he knew back in camp, but he supposed that he needed to be serious now. His eyes were sharp and focused, betraying no fear; Josh was made to do this. He was made for missions like these.

Tyler didn’t know if he, himself, was. He became more anxious as they approached the city, as they slipped into a tunnel he didn’t know, but then again, who could go back into Dema feeling comfortable? No bandito he knew.

They all knew how to do this, though, better than Tyler did. The sun was just set, light enough for them to see but dark enough to hide their shadows. Tyler stayed close to Josh, close to the torches. Josh gave him his lighter before they left, a comfort. It sat in the left pocket of his jacket, cold but somehow familiar.

This tunnel was bigger, broader than the one Tyler used in his escapes. It split off in different directions, going this way and that, but Josh took no hesitation in choosing which way to go; it was clear he’d been here many times.

There was no door at the end of the tunnel, only a battered, flat piece of wood. Someone moved it aside, and Tyler followed the others into a dark, disused warehouse.

It seemed empty, at first, but there were figures on the edges of the building, leaning against the walls. Some rose when they saw the banditos, some shrank away from the light of their torches. One figure stepped forward from the others, a man with dark hair that looked vaguely familiar.

“The family?” Josh asked him. 

The figure nodded, gesturing to a corner of the building. “They’re here. Skittish like the rest, but they haven’t backed out.” He reached out, unzipping Tyler’s backpack and pulling out supplies. “They’re hungry.”

The next few minutes were spent walking around the warehouse, approaching the citizens slowly and doling out the food. They were wary, with glinting eyes and thin bodies, but they took what they were given eagerly. A few people smiled. Others cried, and Tyler felt vaguely overwhelmed by the emotion, the familiarity in their faces.

They were like him, like he was while Nico was still alive. Scared, silent, wary of kindness because they didn’t know what it was. They didn’t know what it meant.

It hit him hardest when he offered a roll to a little boy. The child was skeptical, but tentatively took the bread from his hands and promptly rushed over to give it to his mother.

Tyler saw all of this, and he understood why they kept coming back. He understood why they gave up their food, their nights, to help these people. They needed it.

Suddenly, a voice shouted at the entrance to the warehouse, insistent. “Bishop!”

The citizens immediately got to their feet, the banditos dropped their torches in the dust to put out the flame, and everyone scattered. In the sudden darkness, Tyler couldn’t see, couldn’t breathe, but then someone was pulling at his arm; Josh, Josh. Josh dragged him out of the warehouse, and they ran. 

Sharply, they ducked down an alleyway. It was very dark, the shadow from one building casting onto the other, sheltering them from dangerous eyes.

Tyler’s heartbeat pounded in his ears. There were people here already, hiding; two adults and two kids. The parents were huddled around their children, shielding them with their own bodies. He recognized them as the family they were meant to rescue.

Josh was clinging to Tyler with all his strength, but he didn’t cover his mouth. Tyler knew to be silent.

There was the glint of red, no, maroon, and the figure of a bishop strode down the street. Smooth steps, clean and elegant and terrifying in the way only bishops were. Tyler’s heart was in his throat, his hands were shaking, but no. No, this was not Nico. Nico was dead, and this figure was too tall, too thin. This was Keons.

Josh’s fingers were clutching at Tyler so hard it hurt. His face was half pushed into Tyler’s shoulder, and he could feel Josh’s breaths, rapid and quiet against the fabric of his jacket.

Keons paused, barely, for a moment, in the center of the street. Then he carried on.

Tyler waited one minute, two. He knew Keons was still close, dangerously close, but they could still be discovered here, and they needed to get back to the tunnels. The family behind them was looking to the two banditos for guidance; their fear shone in their eyes. They had to go.

Josh.

His body was trembling, his eyes wide but unfocused. Tyler carefully pried him off of his arm, but he clung back again. He was unsteady, shaking.

He was more than frightened. Tyler had never seen him like this. 

He wanted to comfort Josh, to wrap his arms around him and hold him tightly, but there was no time. The family was looking at him now. Tyler swallowed, moved his hands.

‘We’re going back to the warehouse,’ he signed. ‘The tunnels are there, we can get you out.’

The parents glanced at one another, and then the father nodded. Tyler took a second, one precious second, to grab Josh’s hand, whisper in his ear. “We have to go. You have to run, okay?”

Josh shook, still, but managed to nod. The look in his eyes was far away, but his hand clung to Tyler’s, and he knew the bandito was still with him.

He crept to the edge of the alley, Josh close, and peered out. Keons was nowhere in sight. 

Tyler looked back at the family, right behind him, then forward. And he ran.

There was no hiding the sound of footsteps, quick and frantic on the cobblestone, but still, Keons did not appear. Tyler raced back to the warehouse, Josh and the family with him, and he found the wood covering the tunnel to be crooked, as if closed in haste. He opened it, motioned for the family to enter, and they did so. Looking around revealed no more banditos, no more citizens. Tyler pulled Josh into the tunnel, and blocked it up behind them.

Pitch darkness. Tyler could hear the family’s quiet shuffling, could sense their fear, and Josh was still hanging onto him like a lifeline, although his breathing had eased. Tyler pulled the lighter from his pocket and flicked the roller, bringing the tiny flame to life.

It wasn’t much, but it was enough to light their faces, the walls of the tunnel. Tyler took a deep breath and whispered just loud enough to be heard. “Is everyone okay?”

The family nodded, although they looked about as terrified as he felt. 

“We’re going to Trench,” he said, quiet but firm. “If you’re coming, follow us.”

He stepped forward into the yawning black mouth of the tunnel, and he heard the footsteps of the family behind him.


	3. Love

Leading the way was easy enough, until the tunnel branched out.

Tyler paused at the first intersection, hesitant. He could make a guess as to which way to go, but it could lead them into worse danger. He’d only been through this way once.

A voice spoke up from his shoulder, raw and worn. “Left.” Josh’s eyes were red, and he still clung tightly to Tyler’s hand, but at least he was talking. Tyler inhaled and led the way. 

Josh continued to guide them through two more breaks in the tunnels, using minimal words but seeming to get gradually better the further they got from Dema. It was dark and cold in the tunnels, and the family they had rescued stumbled along behind them, but they went on. Time seemed to warp and twist in the faint light of the lighter.

Slowly, but surely, there was a brighter flame at the end of the tunnel. They moved quickly forward into the waiting arms of the banditos, who looked ragged but all seemed to be present.

Jenna immediately threw her arms around Tyler and Josh, hugging them tightly. “We thought you got taken,” she burst out. 

“Almost did,” Josh said, voice still raw. Jenna pulled back and looked at him, clearly noticing his abrupt change in demeanor, but someone was already calling the group to attention, and she let it go.

The walk back to camp felt twice as long as the walk to the city had been. Tyler was still sort of jittery from the close call, and Josh’s walk was more of a stumble. The moon hung above, but with less torches, Tyler saw its light as a guide. Its faint glow watched them, it saw their movements and their strengths and their weaknesses, and it told no one.

Arriving at camp was a massive relief. The rescued family was quickly integrated into the group; tape was placed on shoulders, food was given and words were shared as they were shown to their new tent. Now that they were safe, Tyler was free to focus all of his attention on Josh.

The bandito looked weary. Tyler tugged on his sleeve gently. “We should have Clancy look you over,” he suggested.

Josh shook his head. “There’s nothing he can do. I feel better, really.” At Tyler’s doubtful look, he went on. “I just want to sit by the fire for a bit. Will you stay with me?” he added.

His eyes were soft around the edges. Tyler rubbed the palm of his hand with his thumb. “Of course.”

After fetching a blanket from their tent, Tyler laid it out on the grass, close to the fire but far away enough to have some space. The other banditos kept their distance, and they sat alone with their backs to one of the logs by the fire. 

Josh stayed close to Tyler, holding his hand and leaning into his shoulder. He was particularly clingy in his anxiety, Tyler noted, much more than he himself was. He couldn’t say he minded.

Jenna came over after a while with two bowls of stew for them to eat. She didn’t push either of them to talk, just smiled at them for a moment before disappearing to hand out more warm food.

Being so drained from the mission, they ate eagerly, and the soup was soon gone. Tyler was really starting to feel sleepy, but he didn’t want to disturb Josh, so he pushed through it.

The fire was warm, however, and he was nearly asleep when he heard Josh finally speak. “Can I lay my head in your lap?”

He blinked hard a couple of times to shake off the drowsiness, then sat up straight. “Yeah, of course.”

Nobody had ever laid their head in Tyler’s lap before, but it felt so natural when Josh did it that he wondered if they had done it in another time or place, before Dema. He pulled Josh’s hood down and started petting his hair almost automatically; his curls hadn’t quite grown back in from the last time he’d shaved his head. Tyler sort of missed them, although he had to admit that Josh looked rather striking this way.

Josh sighed and let his eyes shut almost the moment Tyler’s fingers ran through his hair. Tyler smiled a bit, satisfied that he could help him relax. 

They stayed that way for quite a while, Tyler petting Josh’s hair and Josh relaxing. It took about two minutes of this for Josh to start snoring; he was clearly exhausted from the mission, and Tyler couldn’t blame him for falling asleep. He stayed awake, however, just sitting quietly and feeling the warmth of the fire and the sleeping boy in his lap.

Most of the other banditos were absent now, having gone to bed. Clancy was still sitting across the way, and he nodded at Tyler when he caught his eyes. Tyler smiled back, but said nothing, not wanting to wake Josh. 

He knew Clancy was from Keons’ district, that he had served under him in training to be a bishop. It was possible he knew why Josh had freaked out so much at the sight of Keons.

Still, it was Josh’s story to tell, if and when he wanted to tell it. Tyler let his eyes watch the fire for a while, tracing the flickering flames and glowing embers.

The moon was in the middle of the sky when Josh woke, eyes screwing up slightly, but smiling when he saw Tyler’s face looking back at him. “Sorry I fell asleep.”

“It’s okay. You were tired.” Tyler tried to hold it in, but a yawn managed to escape him.

Josh sat up at last, and Tyler realized that his legs were asleep. He didn’t mind. “Bedtime?”

He nodded in agreement. The two of them left the blanket to deal with in the morning, going across the camp and bidding Clancy goodnight before stepping into their tent.

In some ways, it was like the previous nights; Tyler helped Josh untie his shoes and pull off his hoodie, like he had the times the bandito had gone on a mission without him. Josh didn’t speak, though, and Tyler knew he was still thinking about the events that had occurred in the city.

It was only when the two of them lay together in their nest of blankets, finally comfortable and safe, that Josh spoke. “Keons was my bishop.”

Tyler gently took his hand, laced their fingers together, but stayed quiet as Josh went on.

“I don’t go to his district on my missions. A lot of banditos don’t go back to their own districts, there’s a lot of bad memories, and the risk of getting taken is higher. Since Nico’s gone, the bishops have been taking turns looking over his district.” Josh paused, thinking. “Today it was Keons. Tomorrow it’ll be Vetomo, or Nils, or any of the others.

“I’ve seen the way things are in the other districts, but seeing something and experiencing it are both different things.” He clutched Tyler’s hand, hard, then loosened his grip. “They’re all different. Keons’ power was in his goodness. He wasn’t always cruel. He’d talk to us gently, he wouldn’t overwork us in the factories, he’d make sure we got enough to eat, all that. But if we messed up.” Josh stopped.

“You don’t have to tell me,” Tyler said, and he meant it.

Josh continued speaking, but at a lower tone. “If somebody made a mistake, Keons would take them to the square, and torture them in front of everybody. It was a message. We were only his children until we messed up.”

They were both silent for a moment. Tyler rubbed circles into Josh’s palm with his thumb.

“I was careful,” Josh said finally. “I made mistakes, but nobody caught me. It was nerve-wracking. I’d see him in the factory or at worship, and just freeze and try to blend into the background. I hid so much.”

Tyler’s heart physically ached for him. He wrapped Josh in a hug, and he accepted it gratefully. 

“I shouldn’t have frozen the way I did. I was a risk to the mission.”

“I would’ve done the same in your place,” Tyler said quickly. “Anyone would. It wasn’t your fault, Josh.”

He started to protest, but Tyler shushed him. “Anyone would react the same. We’re all risks, going back into the city. But we do it for the people there, the families. They need us.”

Josh laid back onto his pillow as their hug ended, holding Tyler’s hand over his heart. “Yeah. They do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> will be writing/posting the next work in this series soon so keep an eye out of u liked this one! I hope it wasn't too angsty :/


End file.
